JERSEY CITY – Calling Jersey City a “beacon of things to come in America,” Mayor Steven Fulop said in his July 1 inaugural address that education, job training, business development, and ethical governance would be among the cornerstones of his administration.

“Jersey City must not only improve the education of our children, but we also must align the training of skills to the creation of jobs,” Fulop told a crowd of thousands after taking the oath of office. “Working with labor and business, houses of worship and nonprofits,

Jersey City will link training to jobs for the benefit of our families.”

Fulop has been deeply involved in education for the past several years. In each of the last three years Fulop’s political machine has pulled together and endorsed slates of candidates for the Board of Education, and in each of these years his candidates won. The Fulop-backed board last year hired a new superintendent of schools, Dr. Marcia Lyles, who is currently part of Fulop’s transition team.

Later in his inaugural address, Mayor Fulop said, “After education and workforce training, a second priority [of my administration will be to increase] private capital investment to enhance the economic quality of life of our communities…While we continue to attract investment in our city, we have a responsibility, and duty, to ensure that capital investment is matched with an investment in the training.”

Taking a comical swipe at some of Jersey City’s past administrations, Fulop finished his inaugural address by stating, “Recognizing the rich and colorful legacy of many of Jersey City's past mayors, my commitment is to lead an ethical and competent city government.”

Fulop’s predecessor, former Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy – whom Fulop defeated in the May 14 municipal election – was in attendance at the inauguration, as were many other top political figures in New Jersey. Gov. Christopher Christie and Sen. Robert Menendez both made remarks during the ceremony. – E. Assata Wright